More information about cookies

What is a cookie?

A cookie is a harmless text file that is stored in your browser when you visit almost any website. The purpose of the cookie is for the website to be able to remember your visit when you browse that page again. Although many people don’t know it, cookies have been used for 20 years, since the first browsers for the World Wide Web appeared.

What is NOT a cookie?

It is not a virus, nor a trojan, nor a worm, nor spam, nor spyware, nor does it open pop-up windows.

What information does a cookie store?

Cookies usually do not store sensitive information about you, such as credit card or banking data, photographs, your ID or personal information, etc. The data they store is of a technical nature, personal preferences, content customization, etc.

The web server does not associate you as a person, but rather your web browser. In fact, if you usually browse with Internet Explorer and try browsing the same site with Firefox or Chrome, you’ll see that the site doesn’t realize you are the same person because it is actually associating the browser, not the person.

What types of cookies are there?

• Technical cookies: These are the most basic and allow, among other things, to know whether it is a human or an automated application browsing, whether it is an anonymous or registered user browsing, basic tasks for the functioning of any dynamic website.
• Analysis cookies: They collect information about the type of browsing being done, the sections most used, products viewed, time zone of use, language, etc.
• Advertising cookies: They show ads based on your browsing, country of origin, language, etc.

What are first-party and third-party cookies?

First-party cookies are generated by the page you are visiting, and third-party cookies are generated by external services or providers such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, etc.

What happens if I disable cookies?

To help you understand the impact of disabling cookies, here are some examples:

• You won’t be able to share content from that website on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social network.
• The website will not be able to adapt content to your personal preferences, as usually happens in online stores.
• You will not be able to access the personal area of that website, such as My account, My profile, or My orders.
• Online stores: You will not be able to make purchases online; they will have to be done by phone or by visiting the physical store if available.
• You will not be able to customize your geographical preferences such as time zone, currency, or language.
• The website will not be able to perform web analytics about visitors and traffic on the website, making it difficult for the website to remain competitive.
• You won’t be able to write on the blog, upload photos, post comments, rate or score content. The website also won’t know if you are a human or an automated application that publishes spam.
• Targeted advertising cannot be shown, which will reduce the site’s advertising revenue.
• All social networks use cookies; if you disable them, you won’t be able to use any social network.

Can cookies be deleted?

Yes. Not only deleted, but also blocked, either generally or specifically for a particular domain.

To delete cookies from a website, you must go to your browser’s settings and search for those associated with the domain in question to proceed with their removal.

Cookie settings for the most popular browsers

Below we explain how to access a specific cookie in the Chrome browser. Note: these steps may vary depending on the browser version:

1. Go to Settings or Preferences via the File menu or by clicking the customization icon in the top right corner.
2. You’ll see different sections, click on Show advanced options.
3. Go to Privacy, then Content settings.
4. Select All cookies and site data.
5. A list with all the cookies will appear, sorted by domain. To make it easier to find cookies from a specific domain, enter part or all of the address in the Search cookies field.
6. After performing this filter, one or more lines will appear with the cookies of the requested website. Just select it and press the X to delete it.

To access the cookies settings in Internet Explorer, follow these steps (they may vary depending on the browser version):

1. Go to Tools, then Internet Options
2. Click on Privacy.
3. Move the slider to adjust the level of privacy you prefer.

To access the cookies settings in Firefox, follow these steps (they may vary depending on the browser version):

1. Go to Options or Preferences, depending on your operating system.
2. Click on Privacy.
3. In History, choose Use custom settings for history.
4. You’ll then see the option Accept cookies, which you can enable or disable as desired.

To access the cookies settings in Safari for OSX, follow these steps (they may vary depending on the browser version):

1. Go to Preferences, then Privacy.
2. Here you will see the option Block cookies to adjust the type of blocking you wish to apply.

To access the cookies settings in Safari for iOS, follow these steps (they may vary depending on the browser version):

1. Go to Settings, then Safari.
2. Go to Privacy & Security, you’ll see the option Block cookies to adjust the blocking type you prefer.

To access the cookies settings in browsers for Android devices, follow these steps (they may vary depending on the browser version):

1. Open the browser and press the Menu button, then Settings.
2. Go to Security & Privacy, where you’ll see the option Accept cookies to enable or disable the checkbox.

To access the cookies settings in browsers for Windows Phone devices, follow these steps (they may vary depending on the browser version):

1. Open Internet Explorer, then More, then Settings
2. You can now check or uncheck the Allow cookies option.